Berwartstein Castle
Encyclopedia
Berwartstein Castle is a castle in the Wasgau, the southern part of the Palatinate Forest in the state Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
in southwestern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It belongs to the category of rock castle
Rock castle
A rock castle is a type of medieval castle which directly incorporates natural rock formations into its defences to such an extent that the rock formations define the structure of the castle...
s that were part of the Palatinate defences during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. This castle is noted in the publication Works of Preservation of Monuments of Rheinland-Pfalz, which was assembled and edited under contract by the Ministry of Education and Culture. This publication states that the three main representatives of the so called rock castles are located at Drachenfels (English: "Dragon Rock"), Altdahn and Berwartstein where stairs, passages and rooms are carved out of the rock to form a complete living system which was essential to the defence of the castle. Although the Berwartstein appears somewhat complete when compared to the ruins of neighbouring castles, its structure is only a restoration of the original rock castle structure. It is the only castle in the Palatinate that was reconstructed after its demolition and inhabited.
Origins
There is only speculation about the early of the castle and its name. The name "Berwartstein Castle" is mentioned for the first time in a document dating from 1152, when the castle was given by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to Bishop Günther of Speyer.Occupied by robber barons
During the 13th century, feudal tenants, who carried the name "von Berwartstein" inhabited the castle, which they used as a base for raiding in the manner of robber baronRobber baron
A robber baron or robber knight was an unscrupulous and despotic nobility of the medieval period in Europe, for example, Berlichingen. It has slightly different meanings in different countries. In modern US parlance, the term is also used to describe unscrupulous industrialists...
s. The imperial cities of Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
and Hagenau joined forces against the von Berwartsteins. Following several weeks of futile attacks against the castle the forces succeeded in taking it in 1314, with the help of a traitor. A large amout of booty and about 30 prisoners were taken to Strasbourg. The knights of Berwartstein were permitted to buy the prisoners back for a large ransom. The knights of Berwartstein were forced to sell their castle to the brothers Ort and Ulrich von Weingarten. Four years later the castle became the property of the Weissenburg Monastery.
Property of the Weissenburg Monastery
The Weissenburg Monastery placed the castle in stewardship and established a feudal system therein. This system allowed for the dismissal of vassals that became too presumptuous. Thus the monastery remained in possession of the castle for quite some time. This could have continued indefinitely had the last steward of the castle (Erhard Wyler) not gone too far. When he began feuding with the knights of Drachenfels, the Elector of the Palatinate took the opportunity to bring the Berwartstein Castle under his control.Hans von Trotha
Because of his dynastic ambitions, the Elector of the Palatinate wanted to get all of the Weissenburg-mandated territory under his control. To accomplish this, in 1480 he ordered the, knight Hans von Trotha, who was Marshal and Commander in Chief of the entire Palatinate forces, to proceed to Berwartstein. In this way he could enlarge the property at a cost to the Monastery of Weissenburg. For the quarrelsome knight this was a pleasure to fulfil, since this gave him a chance to take personal revenge on the Abbot of Weissenburg. Years before, Abbot Heinrich von Homburg had imposed a church fine on the knight's brother, Bishop Thilo.As a starting point for this conquering expedition, this experienced warrior first renovated the castle to improve its appearance. He built strong ramparts and bastions as well as the tower called "Little France" .
Abandonmnent (1591 - 1893)
After Hans von Trotha's death, the Berwartstein Castle was owned by his son Christoph; after his death the castle went to his son-in-law, Friedrich von Fleckenstein and remained to this family for three generations. During this time the castle was destroyed by fire in 1591, and, since there is no mention of any attacks, it is presumed that the castle was hit by lightning.Even though the main sections of the castle were not destroyed by the fire, it stood empty and unused for many years to come. In the Peace of Westphalia
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the...
(1648), Berwarstein took special mention, when it was granted to Baron Gerhard von Waldenburg, known as Schenkern, a favorite of Emperor Ferdinand III. Since he did not restore the castle, it sank into oblivion.
New life
Captain Bagienski bought the castle in 1893. In 1922 the castle was purchased by Aksel Faber from CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, and thereby went into foreign ownership. Since he was seldom in Germany, he asked Alfons Wadlé to be his castle steward. Later he was able to purchase the castle.
The village of Erlenbach below the castle was completely destroyed during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the inhabitants sought shelter in the castle. After the war the roofs were gone as well as woodwork around windows, doors, staircases and other furnishings. Since the castle was in no way subsidized, Alfons Wadlé went about the renovation himself. At first he was only able to do the bare essentials to protect the castle from the elements.